Kettle-drum



A. F. WIEDOEFT.

KETTLE DRUM.

APPLICATION FILED JAN-20,1920.

1,391,437. PatentedSept. 20,1921.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLPH F. WIEDOEFT, 0 LOS ANGELESfCALIFORNI A.

To all whom it may concern Be'it known that I, ADO'LPE F. VJIEDOEFT, a citizen of the United States, residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and State of California, have invented new and useful improvements in Kettle-Drums, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to musical instruments and has for its object to provide means for facilitating the rapid tensioning of kettle drum heads, and has for its further object to provide a device that can be quickly and readily attacheo to the drum with but little change in construction of the drum elements, and also to provide a device of this kind that will not interfere with the rapid or free change of position of the drum as is commonly necessary. The invention consists'of the construction, the combination and in details and arrangements of the parts an embodiment of which invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings and described and claimed herein.

Figure 1 is a plan view of a drum to which the device is, applied.

F 2 is a detail sectional view of one of the tensioning devices attached to the drum body.

Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 33 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the pedestal of the device for simultaneously adjusting the several tension screws.

Fig. 5 is a side elevation of Fig. 4 look-. ing toward the face of the foot wheel.

Fig. 6 is a detail view illustrating the connection of the fiexible actuating shaft of one of the not members of a tension screw.

The present invention is shown as applied to what is known as a kettle drum having the usual body 2 covered with the head 3 that extends over the rim band i and is securely attached to a tensioning ring 5 surrounding the band 1. At suitable intervals about the body 2 of the drum are attached brackets 6 each having an outwardly extending arm perforated at 7 so as to receive a tension screw 8 and the lat ter having a shoulder 9 above which is a lever or handle 10 to facilitate the turning of the screw 8. The shoulder 9 rests on a block 11 overhanging the tension ring 5 of the drum. I

The lower end of the screw 8 engages a nut or threaded part 12 that is loosely Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed January 20, 1920. Serial No. 352,786; r

mounted in a box 13 and the. upper end of e latter bears against the lower face of the arm of the bracket as at 14. The threaded portion 12 consists substantially of a sleeve having, at its lower end, a conical bearing shoulder 15 on which engages a set of balls 16. On the lower end of the part 12 there is formed or provided a worm wheel 1? below which is a disk or plate 18 that closes the lowerend of box 13.

The threaded portion of tension screw 8 has no threaded engagement with bracket 6, and the top and bottom of housing 13.

In each of the boxes 13 there is provided a shaft section 19 having a worm or screw part 26 engaging the adjacent teethof the worm wheel 17.

The series of worm shafts 19 in each of the boxes around the drum are interconnected by shaft sections 21 having flexible joints 22 with the worm shaft sections 20. One of the worm shafts is provided with a universal joint 23 to which is connected a shaft sec tion 24k the latter being slidably connected to a driving shaft 25 which is connected at its lower end by a universal joint 26, Fig. 4, to a shaft 27 rotatably mounted in the upper end of a pedestal 28, The lower end of the shaft section 27 is provided with apinion 29 designed to engage a master gear 30 that is provided on the adjacent face of a spider or pedal-wheel 31 and the latter being rotattably mounted on a stud shaft 32 that extends from one side of the pedestal 28.

The pedal wheel 31 has a series of spoke parts the ends of which may be provided with knurled knobs 33 to be conveniently reached by the foot of the operator.

In the operation of the device it will be seen that if the operator desires to rapidly change the tension of the drum head this can be evenly accomplished by the simultaneous downward movement of all of the blocks 11 or action of the pedal wheel 31.

The simultaneously acting adjusting device does not interfere with the individual or manual operation of any of the tensioning screws 8 as these can be separately turned by their handles 10 to draw down the ring 5 or any portion of it as may be desired.

Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. The combination with a drum, of tensioning devices arranged around the drum body and engaging the tensioning head ring; and means for simultaneously actuating all of the tensioning devices to control the tension of the drum head, which means includes worm wheels associated with the tension devices, a worm shaft engaging each worm wheel and flexible connections between each worm shaft.

2. The combination with a drum, of ten sioning devices arranged around the drum body and engaging the tensioning head ring; and means for simultaneously actuating all of the tensioning devices to control the tension of the drum head, which means includes a plurality of worm wheels, a worm shaft associated with each worm wheel and flexible connections between said worm shafts and said tensioning devices being individually and separately adjustable independently of the aforesaid means.

3. An apparatus for simultaneously actuating the several tensioning members of a drum; said apparatus comprising a worm wheel associated with each tensioning screw of the several tensioning, members; a worm shaft associated with each worm wheel, flexible connections between said worm shafts, and a pedally controlled actuating device for said means.

4. The combination with a drum and the tensioning band of the head thereof, of a set of independently adjustable tensioning members; and means for interconnectingall of the tensioning members and whereby they can be simultaneously adjusted, which means includes worm wheels, a worm shaft associated with each worm wheel and flexible connections between said worm shafts.

5. The combination with a drum and the tensioning band of the head thereof, of a set of independently adjustable tensioningg; members; and means for interconnecting all of the tensioningmembers and whereby they can be simultaneously adjusted; said means including a plurality of worm wheels, a worm shaft associated with each worm wheel, flexible connections between said worm shafts, a pedal wheel connected to said flexible shaft.

(3. The combination with a drum and the tensioning band of the head thereof, of a set of independently adjustable tensioning members; each of which comprises a tension band engaging member, a tension screw passing through said member, a worm wheel on the threaded portion of which tensioning screw, a worm shaft associated with each worm wheel, flexible connections between said worm shafts whereby the same may be simultaneously rotated, and a pedal wheel connected to said flexibly connected screw shafts.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

ADOLPI-I F. VVIEDOEFT. 

